I'm definitely getting old. There's no way around it. No longer can I get out of bed and pitch 7 innings without even thinking about it. Do to that now would require a whole bunch of pills and more than likely a short hospital stay to recoup from the pain afterwards. I've come to the reality that my sporting life is coming to an end at the level that I once played at. I've taken on the role of coach on my baseball team helping guide the youngsters.
There will always be a youth movement in sports. Its the natural order of being an athlete. You play as long and as hard as you can, but just like you did to somebody before you, a player who is younger and now better than you will replace you. The window of opportunity is longer for others, but for most athletes you are lucky to have a 5-10 year stretch to show the world how well you can play at an elite level.
In Oklahoma City, a group of young, elite athletes have become the newest stumbling block for LeBron James and his quest to win a championship. Just a few years ago it was James that was the future of the NBA. When he stormed into the NBA at 18, people figured he'd be in line to break all of individual scoring records and win multiple championships. His window seems to be closing quickly and he's only 27! Michael Jordan was 28 when he won the first of his six championships. He even took two years off to play baseball in his early thirties. There's no reason LeBron can't win multiple championships, but Kevin Durant (23), Russell Westbrook (23) and James Harden (22) are all younger and if they continue to play together, look to be to current 'future of the NBA'. If LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh made the aging Boston Celtics trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen look old, then what will people say about the Miami Heat if the Thunder roll through the Finals this year?
The Washington Nationals also have one of those players. Well they have a handful of young players, but I'm going to focus on the youngest...Bryce Harper. It's difficult not to wax poetic about him. At 16 he was touted as the 2nd coming of *insert any HOF baseball player here*. Now just 3 years later is in part of a youth machine that is currently rolling through the season. Nobody knows what his ceiling can be because he is only 19 years of age (old enough to drink in Canada, but don't go there bro). Yesterday he hit a moon shot against the Blue Jays which would have shattered the window of the old Hard Rock Cafe if it were still there. He swings hard, runs fast and puts forth a youthful exuberance that I hope never subsides. In a team game that has a six month season, it seems that the world comes to a stop when Harper is up to bat. As a fan, you just want to see what he will do next.
The last athlete I will touch on will be a new name to most...Andy Zhang. He is only 14 years of age, yet on Thursday he will be partaking in the U.S. Open! The same tournament that makes even the most seasoned veteran look like mere amateurs will allow a kid who is just entering high school tackle it. This is one of the greatest aspect of The Open, if you are good enough all you have to do is qualify. Even though it took someone dropping out because of injury for Zhang to make it, the story is still wonderful. While the world will be focused on the likes of Tiger, Phil and Rory, I will be following Andy and I hope that you do as well.
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Tonight on NBA TV (9 pm) is the documentary about the 1992 Dream Team. If you are too young to remember them, watch it. If you remember how they dominated the opponents and what to look back to a time when the United States were the best at basketball in the world, watch it. If you want to see why the world has become so much better at basketball, its because of what the Dream Team did in the Olympics. Basketball became so popular, because the athletes that were sent to Barcelona handled themselves with dignity, were likeable and put their ego's aside for the betterment of the team (well outside of Michael Jordan refusing to play with Isiah Thomas). Now NBA players are asking to get paid to represent their country...oh the shame.
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